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The NBA's free agent silly season opened at midnight last night, which is the first time that teams could woo free agent players under the league's collective bargaining agreement. This year's free agency will be sillier than ever with the salary cap set to jump from $70 million last season to at least $94 million for 2016-17 thanks to the NBA's new $24 billion TV contract with
ESPN/ABC/TNT, which kicks off next season. It means every team has money to burn.

Case in point: DeMar DeRozan, who came to terms with the Toronto Raptors on a five-year deal worth at least $139 million, according to Yahoo's The Vertical (USA Today's Sam Amick was the first to report a deal between the two had been reached). It is the second largest contract in the history of the NBA, surpassing the seven-year, $136.4 million deal Kobe Bryant commenced in 2004 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Damian Lillard's five-year contract with Portland Trail Blazers signed last summer became the NBA's largest all-time in May when the deal got bumped up to roughly $150 million because Lillard made an All-NBA team for a second time triggering a higher salary. DeRozan could have commanded as much as $153 million from the Raptors under the NBA's maximum salary rules.

DeMar DeRozan is about to get paid. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

DeRozan is a decent player who averaged 23.5 points per game last year for the Raptors and made his second All-Star team. His player efficiency rating ranked 24th among NBA players last season during his breakout campaign. But the guard is a volume shooter with a shooting percentage that has often hovered in the low 40s. His defense is also suspect. Yet, the reality is the Raptors are likely pleased they could bring back DeRozan at a rate below $30 million per year despite his flaws. Such is life in today's NBA.

Other players to cash in during the first hours of free agency include Nicolas Batum (five-years, $120 million with the Charlotte Hornets), Timofey Mozgov ($64 million over five years from the Lakers) and Jordan Clarkson (four years, $50 million also with the Lakers). Andre Drummond is close to a five-year, $130 million agreement with the Detroit Pistons, according to ESPN's Mark Stein and Joakim Noah is expected to secure a four-year deal with the New York Knicks worth around $72 million. The free agency action will continue fast and furious on Friday. None of these verbal agreements can be signed until the NBA's free agency moratorium ends on July 7.

The biggest free agents on the market are Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Both are likely to sign one-year deals with a second-year player option with their current teams. The big payday will come next summer when the cap jumps again to $108 million and they can command first-year salaries of 30% of the cap. Those deals will both top $200 million if the stars sign for five years.

The DeRozan deal is reflection of how flush with cash and cap space NBA owners are right now as they gear up for their next labor negotiation with the players (both sides can opt out of the current CBA after the 2016-17 season). More NBA players are going to sign astronomical deals over the next 12 months. DeRozan's earnings over the next five years will equal Andrew Luck's over six, assuming the franchise QB stays healthy. Luck signed his own $140 million deal this week. The difference between the two: Luck is arguably the NFL's most valuable asset over the next six years, while DeRozan isn't the best player on his own team with most preferring his teammate Kyle Lowry. It is a certainly a good time to be an NBA player.

Update: A previous version of this story cited DeRozan's contract as the biggest NBA deal ever, but Lillard received a contract escalator when he made an All-NBA team for a second time in May to push his deal above DeRozan's.

I am a senior editor at Forbes and focus mainly on the business of sports and our annual franchise valuations. I also spend a lot of my time digging into what athletes earn on and off the field of play. I've profiled a bunch of athletes that go by one name: LeBron, Shaq, Dan...